This invention relates to a latch system for a sliding door found on a vehicle, such as a truck or van.
A truck or van may employ a sliding door that permits access to the passenger or cargo compartment of the vehicle. In the past, these sliding doors had been manually operated. Recently, sliding door systems have been developed that open the sliding door automatically at the touch of a button. These systems typically involve a drive system in the sliding door that moves the door between its open and closed positions.
Automatic sliding doors have inherited the latch systems found on manual sliding doors. Specifically, the latch system involves a lock distinct and apart from the drive system for the sliding door. When the sliding door is locked, the drive system for the sliding door is disabled from operation.
Because the sliding door system is separate and distinct from the latch system, the vehicle requires more components to operate both the drive system for the sliding door and the lock system. The higher number of components further results in increased costs for these two systems. Moreover, the security offered by existing latch systems for automatic sliding doors is no greater than that offered by manual doors.
A need therefore exists for a simplified latch and drive system for a powered sliding door that offers fewer components and greater security than existing systems.
The inventive vehicle door latch system has a drive unit that powers the movement of the vehicle door between its open and closed positions. A drive component serves to transfer power from the drive unit to the vehicle door. Rather than employ a separate latch system, the inventive door latch system employs a latch that selectively arrests movement of the drive component and the vehicle door by preventing movement of the drive component and accordingly the vehicle door.
The drive component may be blocked by the latch, which may comprise a pawl or a bolt. A pinion may serve as the drive component and transfer movement from the drive unit to the vehicle door by rotating along a rack attached to the vehicle frame. The latch may interfere with the movement of the drive component by entering the path of a component""s movement. Accordingly, the latch is moved to a point of interference with the path of the drive component to lock the door.
The vehicle door may be a sliding door and travel along a path generally longitudinally to a vehicle frame. The drive unit serves to move the vehicle door along its path while a latch selectively arrests movement of the drive component so as to stop movement of the coupled vehicle door. In this way, the sliding door is prevented from moving.
A vehicle door is thus moved by a drive component of a drive unit. The movement of the drive component is selectively interrupted by having a locking member enter the path of movement of the drive component. The vehicle door may be stopped in place until the locking member is removed from the path of the drive component. Because the latch is incorporated as part of the drive system, fewer parts are required. Moreover, the latch interferes with the operation of the drive system for the vehicle door, thereby providing better vehicle security.